Highlands Girls Avenge Loss

Bluebirds Move to 5-6 on Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Members of the Highlands girls basketball team converse in a recent game.

The rematch for the Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (5-6 overall) against the Boyd County Lady Lions (8-6) was not close in favor of the Blue and White.

The Bluebirds led 34-28 at halftime in the Centria Metals/Penn Station Shootout at Franklin County on Saturday. But Highlands pulled away for a 71-53 victory in the second half.

Bluebirds Lose Final Game at Lexington Catholic

Boyd County Beats Highlands in Overtime

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior guard Kenzie Nehus gets down on defense in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (3-4 overall) dropped a third game at the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic on Sunday by a 64-61 score to the Boyd County Lady Lions (4-5).

Highlands led by two with 5.5 seconds left in the game. But Boyd County junior shooting guard Harley Paynter took the ball the length of the court and made a lay-up to send the game to overtime.

Bluebirds Fall Short in LexCath Tournament Final

Lady Lions Hold on for Holiday Tournament Title

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior Piper Macke (1) turns after passing the ball to sophomore teammate Kenzie Nehus (3) while Boyd County sophomore Harley Paynter (14) gets in position in the championship of the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic on Sunday. Boyd County edged Highlands for the title, 61-59.

The same strategy that helped the Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team (9-2 overall) make it to the championship game of the prestigious holiday classic almost helped the Bluebirds win it.

Highlands had its chances against the Boyd County Lady Lions (10-1) Sunday evening at Lexington Catholic in the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic. But Highlands came up short in a 61-59 defeat.

Highlands beat two preseason Top 25 teams to make it to earn four games in the tournament in Lincoln County and Louisville Butler. The Bluebirds then beat Simon Kenton in the semifinals.

"We have great senior leadership," said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. "We do the small things. We're usually smarter than we were on the court (Sunday) and that affected us. We came down and not a lot people thought we'd beat Lincoln County then not a lot of people thought we'd beat Butler. I don't think anybody had us going to the finals so I'm proud of the grit we showed. We had three wins in 25 hours so that's a big accomplishment for these girls. It gave girls who have never been in a game like this experience, which was good."